


Superposition

by closetfascination



Category: 13 Reasons Why (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Presents, Christmas Special, Drinking, Holidays, M/M, Past Suicide Attempt Mentioned, Recreational Drug Use, Romantic Fluff, Soulmate-Identifying Timers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:20:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28262265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/closetfascination/pseuds/closetfascination
Summary: Charlie and Alex spend Christmas together with their families reminiscing on how they discovered they were each other’s soulmates.
Relationships: Charlie St. George/Alex Standall
Comments: 22
Kudos: 106
Collections: Chalex Holiday Exchange 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ricoka](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ricoka/gifts).



_I don't believe in fate_

_No psychic vision_

_But when things fall into place, superposition_

– Young the Giant

* * *

**Charlie**

**_December 24, 2021_ **

Large snowflakes tumbled rapidly to the ground, and the snow seemed to be accumulating quickly. There was a saying amongst the Berkeley Ski and Snowboard Club members that if it was raining in Berkeley, it was probably snowing in Lake Tahoe. As he was currently at his family's cabin in Lake Tahoe, Charlie had no idea if it was raining in Berkeley, but it was going to be a white Christmas at the cabin. His father had invited the entire Standall family to their cabin to celebrate Christmas, and they had agreed. While Charlie always hoped and dreamed of meeting his soulmate, it still surprised him that it has been less than a year since he met Alex. It was close to midnight, and everyone except for him and Alex had gone to bed. 

Charlie and Alex were cuddling on the couch beside the soft light of the Christmas tree; hands entwined, Charlie lightly stroking Alex's hand. 

"Mmm, this is nice," Alex hummed, nuzzling his head into the crook between Charlie's shoulder and neck.

"It is. I can't believe we met less than a year ago."

"Well, actually we met a year and four months ago."

"Yeah, but only you had any idea of who I might be."

"Not that it mattered." 

* * *

**Alex**

**_September 7th, 2020_ **

"Why are we here?" Alex grumbled as Jessica led them into the student's union building at Berkeley University on an apparent mission. 

"We are going to Calapalooza. It is that clubs fair that the Student's Union puts on twice a year."

Alex rolled his eyes. 

"No. This year Alex, we are doing things. We are meeting people. You did the whole quiet and aloof thing last year and look where it got you."

Alex looked at her, confused, "On the Dean's list? With a scholarship for my second year?"

"Yeah, boring. And what did you do, other than study a lot?"

"Worry that I wasn't studying enough?" He offered, hoping that she would drop it. 

"Precisely. Alex, I think we need a better school social life balance."

"I was happy with mine, thank you. Maybe you should take a page from my book...if I remember you just squeaked by?"

"C's earn degrees Alex, and nobody looks at your marks later on. Come on, humour me. You might be surprised at what you find."

"I guess it wouldn't kill me to walk around with you. But I'm just walking. I'm not really the joining type."

"I think we should join something together. It would be fun."

"I make no promises."

The large ballroom where the fair was being held was packed. Over 250 tables were set up, and Alex was surprised at the variety of clubs that Berkeley seemed to offer. He guessed he missed the fair his first year because he'd decided to duck out of the lame orientation. The leaders were entirely too enthusiastic, and learning cheers felt like a form of indoctrination that he wasn't on board with. He'd hoped that things like school cheers would be something he left behind in high school. It almost felt surreal, the two peppy leaders in their bright colour shirts bouncing around trying to get the group of 30 of them to learn cheers like they were at some lame summer camp. He remembered texting Jessica, and they'd both skipped out, instead exploring campus on their own. 

As they walked through the rows of tables, Alex noticed that there were varying degrees of engagement amongst the people handling the table. The Dungeons and Dragons Club members were all sitting on their phones, only engaging with people when someone approached their table. The Dance Club, which apparently had a limit, had a line. 

"Oooh, I've heard great things about the dance club!" Jessica exclaimed. "I hear lots of people meet their soulmates in that club."

"Ballroom dancing?" 

"Yeah, they teach you."

"I think I'll pass. But don't let me stop you."

Jessica pouted.

"How will you meet your soulmate with me hanging around?"

"Alex, you know that isn't how it works."

They had numerous conversations over their five years of friendship about soulmates. They were both a little cynical about the concept, but Jessica believed in it more than he did. Everyone was taught the story growing up that when you met your soulmate, the timer everyone had on their wrists would start tracking the amount of time you spent with them. Until then, it would just display 00y 00d 00h 00m 00s. Many people would have a unexpected 17 secs appear as they crossed paths with their soulmate randomly at a grocery store. You had to be within touching distance for the counter to start recording the time. Some people believed that fate would eventually bring these people together. Some people were very young when they met their soulmate, and others never did find their match. A lot of people chose to partner with people that aren't their soulmates instead of waiting around; these partnerships were sometimes successful, but oftentimes disastrous. Alex and Jessica had dated for a while, but perhaps they were an excellent example of why people should try to find their soulmate. He glanced down at his counter, still all zeros. Oh well, he thought, same as every other day in his 20 years. 

They continued to wander through the fair when a dirty blond-haired guy with deep blue eyes and a broad smile tried to grab their attention. He was dressed somewhat preppy, especially compared to the other two guys at the booth, in a maroon sweater with the collar of a matching maroon and navy checked shirt and khaki pants; he looked like he belonged at a country club rather than a clubs fair. He started with, "Do either of your ski or snowboard?"

Jessica shook her head no and almost started to walk away when Alex said, "I snowboard or I uh, used to. It's been a while."

"Well, you should consider joining the Ski and Snowboard Club. We are a low-key club that likes to get people out to the slopes." He smiled, and turned to Jessica, "And even if you don't ski or snowboard, our trips are for everyone. Some packages include lessons so you can learn."

Alex didn't know why he was still standing there listening to this guy and also didn't know what compelled him to ask the next question that tumbled out of his mouth, "What kind of trips?"

"We do one big trip a year. Ironically it is called Big Trip 2021 because we weren't creative enough to call it anything else. But it is a steal. Four days, and five nights of accommodation starting at $308."

"Hmmm including a lift ticket?" Alex continued asking questions. Jessica was now staring at him, jaw slack and mouth open in shock. 

"Yeah, wicked, huh?" The blond-haired guy was super enthusiastic and friendly. Alex wasn't sure why his mind made this comparison, but he definitely had golden retriever energy. Alex liked dogs, sometimes more than people, so this wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

Alex nodded, still seemingly frozen at this booth. 

"If you want to give me your email, I'll put you on the mailing list for more information."

"Sure." The blond-haired guy passed him a clipboard and a pen. Alex neatly printed his name and email address and handed the clipboard back to him. 

Reading from the clipboard, he said, "Nice to meet you, Alex. I'm Charlie."

"Nice to meet you too, " Alex said quietly, "Uh... we're going to go now. Thanks for all the information."

"No problem! Hope to see you on the trip." 

They walked away quickly. 

"I didn't know you snowboarded?" Jess said.

Alex shrugged, "It never came up I guess. I mean we don't exactly live close to any hills. Before I moved to Evergreen, I lived in a small town in Colorado. We used to go all the time." 

"Well shit, I didn't expect you'd actually sign up for anything when I brought you here."

"Sometimes, people surprise you. And I didn't really sign up for the club, I'm just on the list to get more information." Alex corrected.

"He was kind of cute." Jessica paused, looking back in Charlie's direction.

"Who?" Alex said right away without thinking. 

"The Ski Club guy. "

"Uh yeah, I guess." Alex acted like he wasn't interested, but there was something about him, Charlie is what he said his name was, that intrigued Alex for whatever reason. 

"Don't act all disinterested on me. I saw your face."

Alex laughed. He loved playing a bit coy with Jessica because it drove her nuts. She was so nosy, so Alex liked to make her work for the information. 

"Maybe he was attractive." Alex conceded, with a slight smile and sigh. 

"I knew it!" She exclaimed, giving him a light affectionate punch on the shoulder. 

They continued to walk through the fair, stopping to talk to some booths, sometimes only long enough to not feel bad, grabbing a free pen or other freebies. Jessica signed up for two different clubs that seemed right up her alley, one a political group called the Sexual Assault Commission whose goal it was to hold the university accountable for transforming the university's sexual assault policies and the other was general sex education group. 

They grabbed a coffee together before they both retreated to their dorm rooms. 

When Alex got back to his room, he happened to glance at the inside of his wrist. For the first time in his life, his counter was no longer at zero. 

It now read: 00y 00d 00h 01m 37s. 

Alex felt a chill run through his body. 

_Fucking hell._ He'd spent one minute and thirty-seven seconds with his soulmate. Somewhere at the fair, Jessica had insisted he go to, his soulmate had been there.

Of course, it had to be on the day he was in proximity with thousands of people at the clubs fair. He snapped a photo and texted it to Jessica. 

**Alex (4:35 pm):** check this out

**Jessica (4:35 pm):** shit, no way

**Jessica (4:36 pm):** bet u it was that blond hair guy with the ski club

**Alex (4:36 pm):** yeah, or anyone near us when we talked to him

**Jessica (4:37 pm):** it has to be him. i couldn't get you to leave that booth

**Alex (4:37 pm):** i like snowboarding

**Jessica(4:38 pm):** b4 today i didn't even know u snowboarded

**Alex (4:39 pm):** shut up 

**Jessica (4:40 pm):** we have to try and find him

* * *

**Charlie**

Charlie was exhausted by the time he got home from the clubs fair. It was a fun day because he got to hang out with his two best friends, Luke and Diego. So when they weren't busy trying to talk people into coming on the best ski trip of their lives, a line that Charlie believed wholeheartedly every time he delivered it based on his own experience going on the BiG TRiP 2020, they got to spend some quality time together. Last year, the trip had taken them to Big Sky Montana and he'd had the best time. Even Diego, who'd never skied or snowboarded before the trip had a great time. There were so many fun parties and activities. The accommodations last year were sweet little cabins slope-side each with their own hot tub. There was nothing like being able to ski or snowboard right up to your cabin. 

Charlie believed in soulmates, and he truly believed that one day he'd meet his. He had an obsessive habit of checking his timer to see if it had budged on the off chance that today was the day. Luke teased Charlie that he checked his wrist more times than Luke hit refresh on Instagram, which Luke assured him "was a lot." Charlie had been so busy at the fair he'd forgotten to glance at his wrist as he chatted to people. Or at least that is what he figured happened when he looked down at his wrist and saw his timer read: 00y 00d 00h 01m 37s.

He knew what it had meant. It meant he finally met his soul mate. 

Too bad, he had no clue who it was. 

* * *

**Alex**

**_October 1st, 2020_ **

And Jessica and Alex did try. For weeks, they'd casually or not so casually be on the lookout for the tall, blond ski club guy with the winning smile or Charlie as he'd introduced himself. By October, Alex had given up. He'd also forgotten that he'd signed up for the Ski and Snowboard Club email. The email arrived while he was working his term paper about Nietzsche for his Philosophy class. 

_Deadline for BiG TRiP 2021 is October 11, 2020_

_Don't miss out on the chance of a lifetime. Four days of Skiing, Five days of lodging and a lifetime of memories._

Alex closed it and went back to working on his paper, not thinking about it again until he received a text message from his other best friend, Zach Dempsey. 

**Zach (5:32 pm):** whatcha doin?

**Alex (5:35 pm):** trying to write a paper

**Zach (5:36 pm):** so this guy in my music theory class says we have 2 go on the Ski and Snowboard Club ski trip

**Alex (5:36 pm):** we don't have to do anything

**Zach (5:37 pm):** dude, it sounds wicked. i haven't been skiing since before my dad died. we used 2 go all the time before that. say u'll come with me

**Zach (5:38 pm):** u wouldn't pass up a chance for quality zach and alex time? 

Alex paused before answering. If he believed in fate, he'd say that the universe really wanted him to go on this ski trip: first, the email, now Zach's text message. But Alex didn't know if he believed in fate. He looked at his soulmate timer, and it stayed stubbornly at 00y 00d 00h 01m 37s. 

**Alex (5:40 pm):** i do like snowboarding

**Zach (5:41 pm):** u do?

**Alex (5:42 pm):** why does everyone find that so surprising? i'll think about it, k?

**Zach (5:43 pm):** nah, u are coming. i can feel it

**Alex (5:44 pm):** i said i’d think about it

Alex didn't need to think about it for long. For whatever reason, he knew he had to go on that trip. He didn't know why, but something told him it was a thing he had to do. 

**Alex (6:07 pm):** fine, i'm in.

**Zach (6:08 pm):** i knew it, we are going to have the best time ever

**_October 2nd_ **

Alex had met Jessica for lunch in a break he had between classes. It was busy in the Student's Union Building, but they managed to find a table where they could sit and enjoy their lunch. 

"Do you remember that ski trip?" Alex commented casually as he dipped a french fry in ketchup and stuffed it in his mouth. 

She leaned in, now interested, "Yeah? The one that cute potential soulmate guy was trying to get you to go on?" 

"Well, Zach wants me to go with him..." Alex's voice trailed off. 

"He does? I didn't even know Zach skied."

"Just like no one knows I snowboard," Alex shook his head, "Anyhow that is beside the point. I'm going."

"You are?"

"I know, I usually hum and haw and take forever to make a decision, but it was weird. It was like something was pushing me to go on that trip."

Jessica squealed, " Eeeee, I'm coming too! I bet you it is a soulmate thing. I bet you'll meet him on the trip."

"But you don't ski? What will you even do on the trip?"

"I can take lessons. Sit in the hot tub or read a book by the fire. I'll be fine. There is no way I'm missing this though." 

"Well the deadline is October 11, I'll forward you the email with the details." 

Alex's mind couldn't help but repeat Jessica's words, " _I bet you it is a soulmate thing."_

Alex's cynical side was thinking, _yeah right, a soulmate thing, that doesn't exist._ The timer on his wrist said otherwise. But if he was honest with himself, a small part of him really wanted his certainty about attending the ski trip to be a soulmate thing. 

Alex would have to wait months to find out though.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlie gives Alex the first of six Christmas presents that remind him of how they met.

**Charlie**

**_December 25, 2021_ **

"Four months and I couldn't even randomly bump into you on the same campus." Alex mused, gently tracing patterns on Charlie's forearm with his index finger. 

"I mean, we are in completely different programs."

"True. I guess I just underestimated the size of our campus."

The old antique clock in the cabin struck midnight; a chime sounded twelve times to indicate the time. 

"It's officially Christmas, " Charlie smiled. He took out a gift bag and put it in front of Alex. "Here, I wanted to give this to you privately."

"What, it isn't some sort of kinky sex toy is it?" Alex joked. 

"Haha, I think you know me better than that."

Alex raised one eyebrow suggestively but said nothing.

"What?" Charlie laughed, "No, the gift is kind of sentimental though. I thought you might appreciate opening it in private."

"And I appreciate your consideration."

Alex pulled the tissue paper out of the gift back and inside there were more wrapped presents, each with a different number.

"Start with number 1."

Alex found the package labelled 1. It was a relatively large box, and when he finally managed to remove the wrapping paper without damaging it, a nice set of Bluetooth noise-cancelling headphones were in the box. 

"Thanks, these are great, but I'm not sure I get why these are sentimental. I mean, I think I probably would have been ok opening this in front of our parents." 

"I guess I went too coptic."

"I think you mean cryptic and yes I like to think I'm smart and while I love and appreciate this gift, you'll have to let me in on the sentimentality."

"All these gifts remind me of moments either leading up to or during those first few days we spent together." 

"So noise-cancelling headphones, I'm guessing the bus ride to Steamboat?"

"Precisely."

* * *

  
  


**Alex**

**_January 10, 2021_ **

"This is going to be sick!" Zach said as he came up behind Alex, giving his shoulders a friendly squeeze. It was 4:30 am and far too early, as far as Alex was concerned, for anyone to be this happy about anything. Zach had convinced both Justin and Tyler to come along as well so they could have a condo to themselves. Tyler planned on taking pictures the whole time, excited about the chance to work on both landscape photography and action shots in a setting he wasn't familiar with. As Alex looked over at Jess, she looked bleary-eyed and half asleep still. He told her that going out dancing the night before a 16.5-hour bus ride was a bad idea, but Jess usually just dismissed his advice as being 'boring' and 'not fun' and did what she wanted anyway.

Alex smiled at Zach's enthusiasm. It wasn't that Alex wasn't excited; he was. He just tended to play it cooler than his best friend, and he was still half-asleep. Alex was decidedly not a morning person, and it was so early it was practically still night in his opinion. Alex had dug out his old snowboard gear and was surprised that it all still fit. He was slightly taller than he was when he was fitted for the board, but not enough that it should make too much difference. He had his helmet as he couldn't take any chances with getting another brain injury after surviving his suicide attempt. His parents weren't even that keen on him going, but they trusted him to be safe; Alex had always been a bit risk averse on the slopes, always sticking to runs he knew he could handle easily. Besides, they couldn't do much to stop him now that he was an adult.

They were headed to Steamboat Colorado, and the bus carrying half the people on the trip was leaving at 5 am, a godforsaken hour in Alex's opinion. They had to go that early so they could be there in time to check-in to the condos and get a good night's sleep before skiing the next day. Well, some people would be getting a good night's sleep. Alex hoped all these parties that he heard of weren't going to happen in his condo, but he could never be sure when Jess, Justin and Zach were involved.

After loading all their bags and gear onto the bus, they claimed some seats somewhere in the centre of the bus. Zach, in his infinite wisdom gained from many trips on coach buses, explained that the centre seats were the best; far enough from the front that bus driver didn't get mad if you got rowdy and far enough away from that back of the bus where the washroom was which could get a bit stinky on these longer trips. Alex sat in a window seat with Jess; Justin took the window seat behind Alex, sitting with Zach; Tyler sat in a window seat across from Alex as Jess. He ended up having to sit beside a very tall guy with light blond hair and blue eyes, who seemed grateful that the aisle seat was available as he needed the space for his legs.

Jessica leaned over to Alex and whispered quiet enough that even Alex struggled to hear her, "Is that him?"

"No. His hair was darker, and he wasn't that tall. I haven't seen him yet." Alex had been looking. He'd been looking for months. As big as Berkeley was, he never thought it would be so difficult to bump into someone a second time. Alex was continually seeing the same people over and over and yet, never the elusive ski club guy, Charlie. He felt a bit like a teen with a celebrity crush. Alex kept telling himself it was silly and to forget about it but try as he might he could not.

Alex knew his name and nothing else about him and yet something about their one meeting was burned into his memory. As he casually watched each person board the bus, his hope diminishing with each person that entered that wasn't him. Alex had about given up hope when the last person boarded the bus. 

It was him. 

Charlie. 

After months of looking for him, hoping for another chance encounter there he was. Alex had to shush Jess before she made too big a deal of this.

Charlie grabbed the bus microphone and way too cheerily for the hour, "Is everyone ready to party?"

Everyone on the bus cheered. Alex wondered what he'd gotten himself into as this really wasn't his scene.

"Nice, well we have a long bus ride ahead so in the interest of not driving our bus driver, Ed, crazy we are going to try to save all that party energy for the hill. Am I right? Now I know some of you are keen to get the party started, but consuming alcohol is prohibited in the coach by law. We don't want to get Ed in trouble now do we? The washrooms are at the back, and we'll be stopping for lunch and for dinner arriving at Steamboat at around 10 pm mountain because of the time change."

 _Oh thank god_ , Alex thought, that seemed reasonable. Well, the bus ride would be terrible, but less terrible if people didn’t chorus sing-a-long the whole time and he'd come prepared with books, music and snacks. Charlie sat down, and the bus pulled out of the parking lot. As long as the ride was, the scenery was beautiful. They stopped for lunch in a small town in the middle of Nevada that seemed to have no more than 100 people in a single gas station Subway that was prepared for their arrival. As part of the cost of the trip, this lunch was included, and the premade subs were distributed.

As they ate their subs on the bus, Jessica checked in on the status of Alex's soulmate timer.

"Has it budged?"

"Nope." Alex sighed, disappointed.

Alex kept looking at his soulmate timer to see if changed at all. He was pretty sure that he probably wasn't close enough to Charlie for it to register any time. But it was still disappointing because over the months since the club's fair Alex had sort of decided that Charlie was probably his soulmate. For someone that had previously paid so little mind to these things, he felt a little obsessive.

"Stop checking, you aren’t close enough.”

“I know, I just…”

"We'll get closer when we stop for dinner," Jessica reassured him.

"Wait, what do you mean 'get closer'?" Alex's voice had a slightly panicked edge to it.

"I mean, we are going to talk to him." She said this plainly as if it were the most logical obvious thing in the world, "What did you think I meant?"

"I don't know. I just... I don't know." Alex felt so unsteady, part of him wished his timer had never moved. It was easier not knowing or thinking that he might never meet his soulmate. Now that it was on the horizon, he didn't know how he was supposed to feel. Excited? Scared? A mix of all of those things?

"Look, everything is going to be fine."

"How can you know that?"

"I don't, but it can't be worse than anything else we've gone through together, and we always seem to make it to the other side."

"True." Alex reluctantly agreed with her. They had been through some terrible stuff together, both of them at various points responsible for the pain and suffering of the other, and their friendship had survived and was stronger than it was before.

* * *

**Charlie**

Charlie was pumped about the ski trip despite the very long bus ride. He was happy with his speech to convince the crowd not to start their rowdiness early. Still, he suspected it was more because it was too early rather than any extraordinary power he possessed over the group. Lunch had gone well. He'd been a bit worried that the Subway wouldn't get their order and they'd have to figure out how to feed 100 people in 30 minutes as there were two busloads of people on this trip. But everything went as planned. 

It was his first year leading the trip. Last year, he'd come as a participant and quickly volunteered to organise next year's trip. It gave him something to do. Not that he really needed more to do, as a member of the Golden Bears, Berkeley’s Football Team. This trip conveniently occurred after their last game of the season. Otherwise, he doubted the coaches would allow them to participate as getting injured skiing or snowboarding is always a possibility.

Charlie had a feeling something big was going to happen this weekend. Charlie didn't know why, but he was feeling exceptionally upbeat. As the bus pulled in for dinner, at a restaurant that was again expecting them, he announced to the bus, "We are on a tight timeline, so please only order off the special bus menu that is provided."

He disembarked first, going into the restaurant to talk to the manager to ensure they were still good to receive the whole busload. Diego and Luke joined him at a table inside.

"Dude, I can't wait to get there. My legs are so cramped," Luke complained, "Soaking these puppies in the hot tub will be so sweet."

"Yeah, we're going to party so hard tonight!" Diego added, giving Luke a high five.

Charlie frowned slightly, "I thought we were going to save the partying for night two?"

"No, Charlie, that was just you. Diego and I, we always planned to party on arrival."

Luke and Diego were on the football team with him, and both of them were letting loose after a whole season of 'behaving'. Charlie sighed, he wasn't surprised at all. He knew they had different priorities. Charlie planned to be on the hill as soon as the lifts opened. Diego would be lucky if he made it to his morning snowboarding lesson. Luke already knew how to ski, but wouldn't be picky as to when he started his day. The coolest part about the trip was that despite their differing priorities, there were always others to meet that shared Charlie's early morning, fresh powder ambitions. 

They all ordered burgers, it was either that or chicken fingers which came out shortly after their order was placed, which made sense as the restaurant likely pre-made a lot of the food to ensure they could all be fed in short order. As Charlie was finishing up his burger, a girl with caramel skin and long curly hair and a guy with light brown hair came up to his table. He recognised them from the bus.

"We just wanted to um... thank you for your leadership." The girl said, somewhat awkwardly. The guy scowled at her as if to say, WTF. He looked like he wanted to crawl under a table and hide but didn't move to leave.

"Uh, thanks," Charlie beamed, "I hope to see you two out on the hill. Don't be a stranger!" He liked meeting new people, and that was part of being one of the trip leaders.

"For sure, " She smiled and replied, looking over at her friend as if to try to encourage him to say a few words. He smiled and nodded at Charlie, and then he watched them both head back into the bus. He unconsciously glanced at his soulmate timer.

00y 00d 00h 02m 01s. 

His eyes went wide as the realisation hit him that one of those two people was likely his soulmate. There was no way to know which one without spending time with one of them separately. He kept the information to himself. Diego and Luke would just make too big a deal about it and unintentionally embarrass him. Charlie felt a mixture of excited and hopeful. It wasn't how he'd imagined meeting his soulmate. He'd imagined it would be a lot clearer, but still, he couldn't wait to finally meet them.

Charlie couldn't hold back the chorus sing-a-long that started at the back of the bus around 9:30 pm and didn't stop until people disembarked from the bus when they finally reached Steamboat, around 10:30 pm. Charlie, along with the other group leaders, got everyone to their assigned condos. Diego and Luke were already in the cabin, each drinking a beer when he made it to their condo at almost 11:30 pm.

"Dude, you finally made it. Beer?"

"No thanks, I think I'm going to call it a night. Don't stay up too late."

"Ok, Dad," Diego teased.

Charlie was happy they each had their own bedrooms in the condo. He got ready for bed, and he was just about to crawl under the covers when he heard Luke exclaim angrily, "This condo doesn't even have a hot tub!"

"This sucks," Diego added. 

Charlie got up to see what the commotion was about.

"What's going on guys?"

"This condo. Does. Not. Have. A. Hot. Tub." Luke repeated, slowly looking sad and dejected.

"I'm sure there is a group one. " Charlie reassured.

"That doesn't help us right now. Those things always close at like 11." Diego added. 

"Yeah, and they frown upon people bringing their own beers. In fact, I think those group hot tubs are beer free zones."

"Goodnight you two,” Charlie said, chuckling under his breath at Luke and Diego’s very first world problem.

Charlie could hear Diego and Luke chat relatively quietly as they finished their beers, and reluctantly went to bed. Charlie was almost happy that their condo didn't have a hot tub as he was no longer worried about getting a good night's sleep. 

Something was nagging at him as he drifted off to sleep. His soulmate was here, in this very condo complex. There was something deliciously exciting about that thought, and if Charlie weren’t a better sleeper, it might have kept him awake. 

Charlie drifted off to sleep with the comfortable certainty that tomorrow he would find out who his soulmate was.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another gift, another memory. Charlie and Alex drink hot chocolate together.

**_December 25, 2021_ **

**Charlie**

_ " _ I'll be honest with you, when you asked everyone if they were ready to party at like five in the fucking morning, I was seriously questioning my life choices," Alex smirked affectionately at Charlie, his eyes twinkling mischievously. 

"Didn't you already think I might be your soulmate at that point?"

"I did, but I guess you never got close enough for my soulmate timer to start counting up again, so I was beginning to wonder if I got the wrong guy. I was impressed that you manage to prevent choral singing until the last hour of the bus ride."

"I was pretty proud of that myself. The leader on the other bus said his group started singing shortly after the dinner stop."

"Well, I'm definitely thankful I was on your bus," Alex stated as a matter of fact. 

"For more than one reason." Charlie smiled and winked at him.

"I hoped, at least. I was starting to think I imagined the changed number on my wrist." 

"Well, go ahead, open the next one."

The gift marked with the number two was not wrapped. It was a large mason jar filled with hot chocolate. A piece of tartan fabric covered the lid, held on by a stretchy gold cord. 

"Ah, hot chocolate. Not our first meeting but the first time we spent a significant amount of time together."

* * *

**_January 11, 2021- Morning_ **

**Alex**

After the exhausting bus ride, Alex slept well. Zach insisted they make it out on the hill for lift opening, which was 8:35 am. Alex begrudgingly had set his alarm and dragged himself out of bed. It wasn't even light out yet, but Alex could see that large flakes of snow were falling. If it was so fucking early, he might have found it beautiful.

"Good morning, Sunshine!" Zach was scooping coffee into a pour-over coffee contraption. University had made Zach intense about his coffee.

Alex just glared.

Zach concentrated as he slowly poured the water he'd boiled over the coffee grounds, blooming them. "Dude, you are going to thank me later. There is nothing like making fresh tracks. Look, it snowed last night, or rather it is still snowing."

Alex was gracious when Zach passed the first cup of coffee to him. He heaped a couple of teaspoons of sugar and some cream into his cup, gave it a quick stir and inhaled deeply before taking his first sip. 

"Oh, thank fucking god!"

"It's good, huh?" Zach was now making himself a cup.

"Yeah, you make the best coffee. So what is the plan?"

"I'm going to make us some bacon and eggs, and then we are going to start on some of the easier runs."

"Yeah, I haven't done this in a bit, so green runs are probably the way to go."

The smell of breakfast cooking awoke Justin, while Tyler and Jessica remained passed out.

"Dude, you fucking went all out! I'm starving!" Justin greeted them, wearing only a pair of grey sweatpants.

"You're always starving, Justin," Alex noted.

"Hey, you never know when it might be your last meal for a while." Justin defended himself. Given that food had not always been a certainty in his life this sentiment sadly made a lot of sense coming from Justin.

Zach, plated up the bacon and eggs carefully, as to not break the yokes on the sunny side up eggs. He handed each boy a plate and smiled, "Bon Appetit!"

They ate up, grateful that Zach had taken it upon himself to cook breakfast. Justin tried to get Jessica up so they could make it to the lesson they were taking that morning. They were going to be late. Alex knew Jessica. She was worse than he was in the morning.

"I'm leaving without her if she doesn't come in the next five minutes. We were supposed to get rentals at 8:30, and our lesson starts at nine."

"Best of luck, we are off to make fresh tracks."

"Have fun!" Justin called after them. 

From the other room, Alex could hear Justin trying to rouse Jessica.

"Jess! Get the fuck up!"

Alex and Zach made their way to the first chair lift, one of the ones that would bring them to longest green runs on the hill. Getting off chair lift proved a bit challenging, but Zach made sure he didn't fall. They did one run together, and it felt a bit rough to Alex. While there was some muscle memory, he couldn't always coordinate his balance the right way and ended up falling on his ass a few times. It was like he could remember how to snowboard, but couldn’t quite get his muscles to do exactly what he wanted them to 100% of the time.

"Again?" Zach asked enthusiastically

"Yeah, let's do it again. Maybe a few more times... I'm a little rusty."

"Of course!"

They did a few more runs, and Alex was slowly improving and spending less time sitting on the hill and more time carving sweet turns into the mountain, but his stamina wasn't there.

"I think I need a break. Why don't you go do some runs while I go sit and have a hot chocolate in the lodge and rest for a bit? We can meet in like an hour?" Alex offered.

"Are you sure? I could take a break with you?" Alex could tell Zach was considering his offer but didn't want to leave him alone.

"Zach, I'm fine. Go. I swear."

"If you insist. I'll see you in an hour."

Alex freed one of his feet and used it to awkwardly move towards the racks used to hold skis and snowboards while people visited the lodge. Part of him was regretting taking a break as it was almost more work to move towards the lodge than it was to do a run. He looked around and hoped he didn't look too pathetic as he inched his way towards the racks. Then it occurred to him, why the fuck he didn't take his board off and just walk? Shaking his head in frustration at himself, muttering under his breath at his own stupidity, he racked his board.

"Taking a break?" A strangely familiar and yet not familiar voice sounded behind him. To say he was startled would be an understatement.

Alex inhaled sharply, eyes wide, "Jesus Christ! You shouldn't sneak up on people like that!"

Charlie was still wearing his helmet, but his goggles were on his head. He looked like he was leaning forward, but Alex realised that is just how ski boots made people look. Charlie's face looked a strange cross between surprised and apologetic. "I'm  _ so  _ sorry. I recognised you from dinner last night and thought I'd say hi."

Alex was trying to stay calm but the combination of being taken by surprise and the realisation that  _ holy fuck _ the person he'd been looking for months was standing right in front of him, saying hi to him. He hated that he felt so undone over this. Alex realised he was still wearing his goggles but was also sort of scared to take them over because he knew he'd have that ridiculous red mark that appears on people's cheeks when they've been wearing goggles. He opted to bite the bullet and lifted his goggles and placed them on his helmet. 

As casually as he could, Alex replied, "Hi, uh, yeah, I'm going in for a hot chocolate."

Charlie smiled, "I was heading in for a break too. You mind if I join you?"

Alex hesitated. He wanted more than anything to sit and have a hot chocolate with Charlie; he could feel it deep within him, down in his soul you could say, and the irony of that thought was not lost on him. But Alex didn't want it to be weird. He knew he was probably overthinking things like he always did. Fuck it. 

"Yeah, let's grab some hot chocolates."

Charlie led the way, and Alex chuckled to himself that from the goggle lines on their faces and the funny way that Charlie was walking in his ski boots, snow sports weren't the most flattering of sports. At least the playing field was pretty even, although Alex had one up on skiers as one could still walk relatively normally in snowboard boots. 

Charlie purchased them both hot chocolate before Alex could stop him and they lucked out and grabbed the comfortable couches that were right in front of the giant stone fireplace that had a large fire burning in it. They started removing the various layers of jackets, gloves and helmets until they were sufficiently undressed for the temperature indoors.

"I love skiing, but I could do without the cold," Charlie commented, taking a sip of his hot chocolate.

"Yeah, it is a bit of a shock to the system considering what winter is like in California."

"Rain, cloudy but mostly not that cold temperatures."

"I'm getting soft. I actually grew up in Colorado. We moved to California in my sophomore year. Actually, this is my first time back in four years."

"Cool. I've always lived in the Bay area."

"How did you learn to ski?"

"Well, my family owns a cabin at Lake Tahoe, so we ski quite a bit."

"I'm not sure why I stopped. I always thought that all the ski hills were far away like this. But Lake Tahoe's only, what, like 3 or 4 hours away."

"Yeah, the ski club has a saying, if it is raining in Berkeley, it is snowing in Tahoe."

"Do you go a lot during the year, with the club?"

"A decent amount, I mean I'm used to being really busy with football, so skiing replaces it in the winter as my activity of choice."

Alex couldn't help but scrunch his nose at the fact that Charlie was a football player. The jocks at his old high school were the worst. But Alex reminded himself that college was different. He noticed that people didn't seem to care much about being cool anymore. And also jock culture was so entwined in school culture at the high school level that it was almost impossible to get away from it.

"You don't like football?" Charlie asked in the nicest way possible. That same sentence out of anyone else's mouth might have been defensive, but Charlie genuinely seemed curious.

"My brother played. I think my dad always hoped I would, but I didn't like it. For a while, I really thought that my dad loved my brother more because of that. I'm sorry, I don't suppose you expected such a heavy answer from a simple question. I don't know what came over me, " Alex tried to explain. God, at this rate, Charlie was going to know all his heavy stuff before lunch. It was almost unnerving he already felt this comfortable with Charlie as a person who was often decidedly sceptical of people.

"No need to apologise. I get how that might affect your view of the sport."

"The football players at my high school were jerks too, so that didn't help either," Alex looked up at Charlie's wide-eyed expression and realised he once again had maybe said too much. "Shit, that was, I don't know what it was. Argh, I should stop talking."

"Or maybe we talk about you instead of football?" Charlie offered, "What are you studying?"

"I'm majoring in history and minoring in philosophy. What about you?"

"Nursing. Ever since my mom got sick, I was fascinated by the nurses, and I love caring for people."

"I'm sorry about your mom. Is she still sick?"

"Now it's my turn to get heavy. She passed away when I was 13."

"I'm sorry, Charlie."

"Thanks, I think I'll always miss her, but I also feel like she'd want me to keep living my life?" Charlie's ordinarily sunny disposition darkened for a moment.

"That makes sense."

"Anyhow, she loved skiing, so this hobby kind of helps me feel close to her."

Alex was resisting the urge to look at his soulmate timer. He almost didn't want to broach the subject yet as he was really enjoying talking with Charlie without the added weight of  _ Oh yeah I'm your fucking soulmate.  _ He wondered if Charlie knew, though.

"Would you excuse me? I have to go to the bathroom. I feel like the hot chocolate is going right through me." Charlie chuckled, and Alex smiled. Charlie sounded so much older than he was when he said that. It was kind of endearing.

"Yeah...no problem." Alex watched Charlie awkwardly walk to the washroom and mentally noted that walking in ski boots was definitely on the list of things that you can't look cool doing.

* * *

**Charlie**

Charlie needed to relieve himself but had a secondary reason for visiting the restroom. After using the urinal, Charlie walked over to the sink to wash his hands. He pushed the sleeves of his turtleneck up his arms revealing his soulmate timer.

_ Holy fuck,  _ he thought as he saw the number.

00y 00d 00h 32m 58s.

He had spent just over 30 minutes with Alex. 

_ His soulmate _ . 

Charlie was giddy. He had waited his whole life for this moment and wasn't entirely sure how to proceed. He had been enjoying just spending time with Alex getting to know him without the complication of  _ soulmates _ hanging over his head. He decided that while he'd tell Alex later today, he wanted to spend a bit more time together before the grand reveal. He took a few deep breaths and splashed some water on his face as he suddenly felt a little warm.

Charlie stared at the reflection of his wet face in the mirror.

"Keep it cool, St George, " he gave himself a little pep talk. After taking another couple of deep breaths to steady himself, Charlie walked over to the paper towel dispenser and grabbed some paper towels to wipe his face. He walked back and rejoined Alex.

"You made it back. I was starting to worry you'd drowned. Hey, is your hair wet?" Alex commented.

"It's just sweat from wearing my helmet."

"Right. Yeah, a necessary evil, huh?"

"Yeah, I mean I've already had one bad concussion from playing football. The doctor said that if I have another bad one, I'd have to give up football, so I am extra careful now."

"Yeah, I get it. My mom's a nurse and often lectures me on the virtues of protecting my brain. I mean, I've always worn a helmet. I never considered not doing it no matter how 'uncool' it looks. Sitting here watching people, though, I decided that you can't look cool walking in ski boots," Alex smiled.

"Oh, really?" Charlie chuckled. "What are you saying?"

"I mean... I'm sure you look fine going down the hill..." Alex's voice trailed off, and he wore a mildly amused expression.

"But..." Charlie couldn't help but press this. And he was pretty sure Alex was flirting with him.

"But...you can't tell me you think that stilted Lego man walk is cool?"

"I mean... yeah I got nothing. Ski boots definitely don't make anyone look cool." Charlie beamed at Alex.

Making conversation was comfortable with Alex. They had been chatting for an hour when Alex's friend found them.

His friend did not look happy. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlie meets Alex's friend for the first time.

**_December 25, 2021_ **

**Alex**

"So you didn't know I was your soulmate until after you went to the washroom?" Alex asked, surprised that he had never thought to ask Charlie this question before. 

"Well, I knew it was either you or Jess, but I didn't confirm my suspicion until after the washroom break."

"I see. Now that I know you better and how into the whole soulmates thing you are, I'm surprised you waited as long as you did to check your timer."

"I have to admit, it was hard to resist checking."

"I'm also surprised that you didn't come running out of the bathroom yelling it from the mountain top." 

"Well, technically, we were at the base of the mountain. "

Alex rolled his eyes. Charlie smirked at him and nudged the gift bag closer to Alex.

"Why don't you open the next one?"

Picking out the box labelled three, Alex once again carefully removed the wrapping paper from a smaller square brown box that seemed to be made from recycled cardboard. He used his index fingernail to slice the tape holding the box shut and opened the box to reveal a Christmas ornament of a snowboarder.

* * *

**_January 11, 2021- Midday_ **

**Charlie**

"Ah, when you said 'Meet at the Lodge' I thought you meant, outside the lodge. Also, did you know this place has, like, four lodges?"

"Sorry, Zach, I lost track of time. And I figured you'd know that I wasn't going further than the lodge right next to the chairlift we were riding." Alex looked genuinely apologetic.

"Hi, I'm Charlie." Charlie extended his hand toward Zach.

"Zach." Zach seemed a bit suspicious to Charlie as if he was surprised that Alex would be sitting with a stranger.

"We were just about to head back out if you wanted to come, Zach?" Alex offered.

"I'm going to break for lunch, and then I might join you. I did some sweet Blacks. I might try some double blacks after lunch."

"Sad, it doesn't look like we are compatible ski buddies, Zach."

"Tragic. Good thing our friendship isn't based on where we can ski together. Meet up later, though?

"Uh, yeah? I'd love to end the day with a few runs that are more my speed. Shall we, Charlie?" 

Alex seemed eager to leave before Zach said anything else.

"Nice to meet you, Zach."

"Take care of him." Zach eyed Alex a bit protectively. Alex shot him a look that said WTF.

They made their way back to the ski hill. Charlie noticed that Alex opted to carry his board to the base of the ski lift. He gathered it was because traversing on flats on a snowboard was difficult. While snowboarders definitely had the advantage of walking around in the lodge, skiers were decidedly more graceful skating along the flats of the ski hill.

Charlie waited as Alex strapped his feet into his snowboard and they made their way to the chairlift line, which was starting to become busy.

Alex looked mildly annoyed.

"Lines are the worst," Charlie empathised.

"Yeah. I hate crowds." Alex sighed.

"A necessary evil to feel the joy of riding down the hill."

"I guess."

"You don't sound convinced."

"No, you are right. Sorry, actually it doesn't have anything to do with the line..." Alex started to explain, somewhat cryptically.

They boarded the chair lift, finally alone, slowly being lifted into the cold air. Even if it was warm on the ground, the light breeze generated by the movement of the high-speed chair lift moving through the dry, crisp mountain air was always a little chilly. Charlie noticed that because of how Alex had to sit sort of sideways because of his snowboard that he was sitting right up against Charlie. It would have been impossible to move away even if he wanted to and he really didn't want to.

"If not the line, then what?"

Alex fiddled with the cuff of his jacket and stared for a bit too long at his left wrist, the one with the soulmate timer. Charlie couldn't help but stare, and Alex noticed meeting his gaze.

Alex took a deep breath. "I don't know, it's kind of heavy. Not exactly something you tell people when you first meet..."

"Try me?"

"I tried to kill myself. The thing is, it didn't work. Instead, I spent a month in a coma, and when I finally awoke, I couldn't remember anything. Countless months of PT. This is actually my first time snowboarding since my attempt. My left leg, there was some nerve damage, and it's never been 100%. Anyhow, snowboarding isn't as easy as I remember it being. I still like it, but the ache in my leg reminds me of what I did. So yeah, it's awkward, sorry it isn't something that I talk about much. I don't know why I brought it up."

"No, I'm glad you told me." Charlie reached out with a gloved hand and squeezed Alex's gloved hand, and he didn't pull away.

"You must think I'm some sort of freak."

"I don't. Listen, I wanted to wait to bring this up, but I noticed you looked at your wrist just now. You've noticed too, haven't you?"

Alex sighed again, looking down at his snow pants. "I didn't want to say anything until I was sure it was you."

"Holy fuck, Alex!" Charlie exclaimed, an open mouth grin overtaking his entire face. He wanted to shout from the rooftops. Charlie realised he was higher than most rooftops and the air felt thin up here. Was it the air, or was it the realisation that he was sitting next to his soulmate?

"This is why I didn't want to say anything," Alex flashing Charlie a semi-serious half-smile. "I was enjoying just getting to know you without having the soulmate thing hanging over our heads."

"Well, I say we don't let it change anything. I mean, what does it actually change? We both knew and were just not bringing it up. Why don't we make a deal for the rest of this trip we just don't discuss the soulmate thing?" Charlie looked at his wrist, "Going only by the past 00y 00d 01h 06m 31s, I'm guessing we'll have lots of time to discuss the details later. No need to have an experiential crisis over this."

"I think you mean existential crisis, "Alex corrected gently, smiling.

"Right. Existential crisis. See that is why you are studying philosophy, and I'm studying nursing. Do we have a deal?"

Alex was quiet as he considered Charlie's words. "Deal. Although my friend already knows about us."

"The girl you were with when you came to talk to me at the restaurant?"

"Uh, yeah..."

"It's funny because after that conversation I actually wasn't sure which one of you was my soulmate. But I'm glad it's you."

"Why what's wrong with Jess?"

"Nothing, just I don't know something about her intimidates me."

Alex laughed knowingly, "Yeah, Jess can be a little intense."

"Um, we should try our best to keep this from Luke and Diego, though. Unless you enjoy a two-man stand-up routine with embarrassing jokes at my expense."

"That could be funny, but I don't know you well enough to wish that kind of pain on you."

"Oh, good. Should I be scared of when you do know me well enough?"

Alex smiled, and Charlie swore he paused just long enough to make him feel uncomfortable.

"I can't imagine why anyone would want to cause you pain," Alex said gently, giving Charlie a tender look.

They'd been so engrossed in their conversation that they were quickly approaching the top of the chair lift. Charlie quickly lifted the bar and said, "Alex get ready. It’s almost time..."

But it was too late. They both tripped and fell on top of each other as they disembarked from the lift. Charlie helped Alex clear the area because it was easier for him to move on the flat ground in his skis.

"Apparently the chair lift is a terrible place to have deep conversations," Alex noted wryly as they stood out of the way from the other skiers and snowboarders getting off the chairlift.

Charlie just laughed, "We should have taken the gondola. It's a longer ride, and there is more warning as to when you get to the top."

"I forgot about the gondola. I basically have stuck to doing the same run all morning."

"What do you say? The view is beautiful from up there. We have to ski down to the bottom to catch it."

"I'm in."

* * *

**Alex**

Alex felt dizzy and slightly off-kilter. He wasn't sure if it was the thin air due to being at a higher elevation, or the fact that he met his soulmate today and had not been apart from them for longer than it took Charlie to use the washroom. The day was now a blur. He did remember his super awkward confession to Charlie on the chairlift. He wasn't sure what compelled him to just tell an almost complete stranger about his suicide attempt, but he suspected it was the soulmate bond. 

There was something about Charlie. Alex felt like he could be himself with Charlie in a way he'd never felt with anyone else. It was both exhilarating and terrifying. Actively not discussing what it all meant was helping. It helped him stay present with Charlie rather than getting anxious about whatever their future held. The few times he'd let his brain start going there, he'd come close to having one of his panic attacks. Best not think about it yet. All he knew is he already liked the Charlie he was getting to know.

Alex was surprised that the gondola didn't bring them all the way to the top of the mountain. There was another lodge, and Alex was tempted to ask Charlie if they could just go get a couple more coffees and sit by the fire for the rest of the afternoon. He chuckled at his own thought, as it was only the first day on the hill and he was already thinking of ways to get out of snowboarding. He liked it, although it was a lot harder than he remembered.

"And you can take this lift over here to the top of the mountain." Alex heard and realised Charlie was talking to him. He wondered if he'd missed anything the other boy had said as he'd been lost in thought.

"Cool."

"So what do you think? Ski down from here or go higher?"

"Aren't the runs harder up at the top? Will I even be able to get myself down?" Alex squinted at the trail map as he asked this. To him, it looked like there was one blue and the rest were blacks and double-blacks at the top. This concerned him as he promised his parents he would come home safely.

"Maybe we'll try the top tomorrow morning when we are more rested. Plus the run back to the bottom lodge is long."

"Sounds good." Alex figured Charlie read the anxiety on his face. He had to admit, it was nice not having to explain himself to Charlie.

"Follow me."

And Alex did. When he wasn't focused on not falling, he admired how beautifully Charlie skied. Wide, gorgeous, S-shaped turns, Charlie gracefully made his way down the hill. What amazed Alex, is that he always managed to go at a considerate pace, much like a ski instructor would. Alex never felt like he had to rush to keep up or that he was holding Charlie back. Well, mostly. Every once and awhile, Alex felt a little like he might be holding Charlie back. Still, Alex quickly forgot about the feeling when the other boy would flash him one of his ear to ear smiles that reflected the sunlight almost as perfectly as the white snow underfoot. Charlie's bright demeanour was infectious, and it was hard not to feel happy around him.

When they made it back to the main lodge, Alex realised that they had only drunk hot chocolate this morning and it was now two in the afternoon. His stomach growled and suggested to Charlie that they grab something to eat.

As they finished up and made their way out the racks to get their gear and do one more run. From behind him, Alex heard a familiar voice.

"Standall!"

Alex turned to see Zach had skied in behind them.

"You better not be ditching me on your last run," Zach threatened in the most friendly way.

"We were just about to take the gondola back up for one last run before hitting calling it a day. You want to come?"

"Want to? There is no way you are going without me." Zach stated firmly, flashing both of them a smile.

They made their way to the gondola just in time to catch the last one before it closed. This ride up was a little tense. Alex couldn't help but feel like Zach was interrogating Charlie. He might as well have asked 'Who are you and why are you spending so much time with my friend?' Charlie probably would have answered it as graciously and patiently as every other question that Zach threw at him. Alex could tell Charlie was going to make a great nurse someday.

"How did you meet?" Zach asked suspiciously.

"Well, as you know, I'm one of the leaders for this trip. We were both grabbing hot chocolate in the lodge and decided to sit together." Charlie explained.

Alex could tell Zach wasn't satisfied with this answer but was too polite to call him on any of the things that were weird about the situation. The fact that Alex typically kept to himself, so Zach likely thought it was strange that Alex had spent the whole day with Charlie. Alex was getting irritated by Zach's questions. It brought back memories of his dad interrogating him before going out in high school.

"You done?" Alex said curtly, a slight touch of irritation colouring his tone.

"For now." Zach smiled, but Alex knew that he'd want to talk privately later.

Alex was thankful when they reached the top of the gondola as this way, he wouldn't have to sit awkwardly while Zach continued to play 20 questions with his soulmate. Telling Zach would be a later problem, but Alex figured it was going to have to happen sooner rather than later with Zach given how suspicious he was. They took the same run as Charlie and Alex had taken earlier, Zach leading the way this time. Alex enjoyed it and felt himself improving with each run. He was happy that it was their last run because he was tired.

"Down for some Après Ski drinks?" Charlie asked.

"Ah, I think I'll pass. I think if I drink anything containing alcohol, I might not wake until tomorrow." Alex noticed Charlie looked sad and quickly added, "Uh, but do you want to hang out after dinner?"

"Sure." Charlie smiled.

"Cool." Alex's lip curved into a playful grin and his eyes twinkled. As he turned and started to walk towards the condo with Zach, he heard Charlie's voice.

"Hey wait- I don't have your number." Charlie jogged toward Alex as quickly as his blocky ski boots would take him, which wasn’t actually very fast. They exchanged numbers and went their separate ways.

Once Charlie was out of earshot. Zach was grinning. He stopped and grabbed both Alex's arms and asked, "You like him, don't you? Fuck, you were flirting with him."

Alex's mouth parted, but no words came out. He felt his face go hot, and Zach still had his arms grasped. He looked away from Zach's gaze, feeling very seen.

Zach was now grinning widely, "You do! I knew it. I mean, good for you, Alex."

Alex felt like there was nothing he could say to this. Was their soulmate bond that obvious? 

Well, clearly, it was. And if Zach picked up on it, indeed the others would too as while Zach was perceptive, both Tyler and Justin were even better at reading people. He could feel the panic rising and now was regretting having not gone for drinks for Charlie.

"Alex, you ok?" Zach sounded concerned. Alex guessed his eyes at the very least looked as panicked he felt on the inside.

"I'm fine. I guess I just wasn't aware it was that obvious and I'm not going to lie, I'm kind of panicking."

"Dude, I've never seen you so comfortable with a stranger. It kind of freaked me out at first, which is why I ran Charlie through a bit of an interrogation."

Alex rolled his eyes, "A bit? You laid it on pretty thick. Thanks for that, definitely not the most awkward eight-minute gondola ride I've ever been on."

Zach laughed, "Oh, you survived. But seriously, it's like the guy is your soulmate or something."

Alex attempted to control his facial expression, but Zach caught the slight eyebrow raise he did before he managed to adopt a neutral expression. Alex felt the other boy grab his left hand before he could pull it away, and deftly moved his cuff to expose his soulmate timer.

00y 00d 3h 59m 47s

Zach's jaw dropped, both surprised and excited, and he exclaimed, "Dude! It's the mystery person you met earlier this year, isn't it?"

Alex pulled his hand away, "Look we don't want to make a big deal about this, at least not for the next few days, so can you please keep this to yourself for now?"

"I can try, but dude, I don't know how you two are going to hide this. If only you both could see how gone you are for each other already."

Alex just sighed. It wasn't like he hadn't been feeling what Zach was describing. He just had no idea that either of them had been so fucking evident to the whole world. 

This was turning out to be an exciting ski trip.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both Charlie and Alex struggle to keep the fact they've found their soulmate from their best friends.

**_December 25, 2021_ **

"I was so tired at the end of that day." Alex mused.

"Yeah, I think we both were. We almost forgot to exchange numbers."

"I could have killed Zach after the interrogation he put you through on the gondola."

Charlie laughed, "It wasn't that bad."

"That's how I knew you were some kind of saint." 

"Well, my last name is St. George."

Alex rolled his eyes, "It is. Charles Brixton Hayden St. George."

"Ok, open the next one," Charlie urged.

The package labelled four, also wasn't wrapped or at least not in a way that hid the contents. It was a bunch of Christmas themed sugar cookies.

"Did you make these?"

"I did."

"Are they 'special'?"

"Not as special as you." Charlie winked. 

Alex let out a mildly exasperated sigh but couldn't help but smile at Charlie. 

"No, seriously. I need to know, so I don't inadvertently offer some to my parents, one of whom is in law enforcement." 

"Cannabis is legal in California, Alex."

"Still, I need to know. Also, I'm not sure how this connects to our first few days together."

"They are special. And it doesn't. I just wanted to give you some cookies." 

"Fair enough. I'm going to save these for later."

* * *

**_January 11, 2021- Evening_ **

**Alex**

When Alex and Zach got back to the condo, Tyler was sitting at the kitchen table editing photos on his laptop. Justin appeared to be napping on the couch, and Jess wasn't back yet.

"Hey, Tyler."

"Oh, hi, Alex."

"Did you get some nice shots?"

"Yeah, this place is so beautiful, I don't think it is possible to take a bad picture here. Take a look."

Alex walked around to stand behind Tyler so he could look at some of the photos he took. The shots, as usual, were gorgeous.

"Wow... these are really good."

"Thank you."

From the couch, Alex heard Justin groan, yawn and when he looked in the direction of the sound, he saw Justin's arms stretch over his head.

"Dude, I just had the best nap. Like, there is something about the air here, it's like fresh, or something and this couch is fucking comfortable." Justin grinned and turned to Zach, "Hey Dempsey, whatcha cooking for dinner?"

"I never said I was cooking dinner," Zach smiled at Justin, tossing his sweaty knitted hat at the other boy. Justin scrunched his face as the slightly damp, dank smelling hat hit his face, immediately grabbing it, tossing it back in Zach's direction.

"I call dibs on the shower," Alex stated. He felt a bit like he might have overdone it his first day snowboarding. His bad leg felt a little stiff, something he hoped that heat of the shower would help him work out.

"Standall, this place is sweet. I think there are like two showers and a giant jacuzzi—no need to dibs a shower. Plus, I think it's just the two of you who stink right now. I took a shower after I got back from my ski lesson and Tyler didn't break a sweat playing photographer."

"Justin, I don't play photographer, I am one." Tyler piped up.

"So, how was the lesson, Foley?" Zach asked as he poured himself a giant glass of milk.

"Dude, I don't think skiing is for me. It was cold and uncomfortable, not to mention fucking dangerous. I mean, I've faced danger before, but when you, like, think about it, willingly strapping boards to your feet and then sliding down a hill, I don't know. It just, like, didn't feel right to me. And then all the other people on the hill. Bunch of fucking idiots."

"I hear you there, I'm not sure how many times I felt like I was almost run down by someone coming up behind me." Alex empathised. He looked around the room and noticed Jess was missing. "Where's Jess?"

"So yeah, Jess, like, fucking ditched me after the lesson."

"What? Where did she go?" Alex asked, slightly worried what Jess was getting up to, by herself at a ski hill.

"Well, I left without her because I didn't want to be late for the lesson. By the time Jess makes it to the lesson, it is like almost half over. But the ski instructor was this, like, really good looking guy from Australia, and I guess he thought Jess was hot. Since she was nowhere near ready to do runs on her own by the end of the lesson, he fucking offers to give her 'private lessons' and I haven't seen her since."

"So you just left her with some random ski instructor? Dude, what the fuck?" Alex's voice was edged in anger. He felt protective of Jess, especially given Justin's history of not always protecting her.

"I'm sure she is fine. Jess can take care of -" Justin's voice was interrupted by the sound of Jessica's loud laughter coming from the hallway outside their condo. The sound of Jessica swiping her keycard was followed by the click of the lock unlocking, and Jessica and a tall guy with dark brown wavy hair wearing a Steamboat Staff Ski suit tumbled through the door. It wasn't clear if they were drunk or just happy at this point.

"See, she's fine." Justin nodded casually in Jess's direction.

"Everyone, I want you to meet Noah! Noah, these are my friends." Jessica said excitedly, slightly slurring her words.

"We dropped in the pub for a few beers," Noah explained. His face was weirdly tanned, the bottom half significantly darker than the top half, presumably due to wearing ski goggles for the majority of his days and failing to wear sunscreen. 

"Clearly," Alex raised his eyebrows, instantly suspicious of this stranger Jess had collected on their first day at the hill. 

"Nice to meet you, Noah. I'm going to head for that shower now."

* * *

**Charlie**

When Charlie got back to the apartment, Diego and Luke were there, as evidenced by the piles of ski clothing he saw scattered around the apartment. He could hear talking echoing through the condo, but he wasn't sure where it was coming from. 

Finally, he noticed that the door to the largest bedroom that had the giant jacuzzi was open. And when Charlie walked in, he found Luke and Diego, wearing their swimsuits, sitting facing each other, in the jacuzzi tub. Both of them were holding beers and seemed to be quite pleased with themselves, especially Luke.

"Hey, Charlie. We found a solution to the hot tub problem." Luke announced. 

"I see you have." Charlie giggled. While the jacuzzi tub was large, it just barely fit Luke's 6'5'' body and Diego, while somewhat relaxed looking, didn't have a lot of tub real estate. 

"Dude, don't judge. Sometimes you just need to drink a beer in a jacuzzi with your bro," Diego defended them. 

"I wasn't judging." Charlie couldn't help but be amused by his friends. He was never really surprised anymore given some of the shenanigans they got up to. 

Luke and Diego were a classic example of platonic soulmates since not all soulmates were centered around romantic love. They met in freshman year when they both tried out for the football team. Luke was the first to notice that his timer had started counting up, but since there were so many people on the football team, it took him a full week to realise it was Diego. They were inseparable from then on. Literally best friends forever. Charlie was pretty sure what he was feeling for Alex right now was more than platonic. He’d never felt like this for one of his friends before.

"Also, where did you go today? After our first runs together, you went to the lodge, and we didn't see you again." Luke looked almost hurt that Charlie had abandoned them for most of the day. 

Charlie hadn't thought of what he would tell Luke and Diego. While it wasn't uncommon for them to split up skiing, mostly since Diego was still a beginner, they would typically check-in with each other. 

"Sorry, I was, you know, networking with some of the people on the trip." 

"Well, St. George, next time can you text us, so we know you are ok?" Luke suggested, a concerned look in his eyes, but the edges of his mouth appeared to want to form a smile as if Luke was consciously trying to stifle his inner giggle. 

"Yes, Dad. So I'm going to leave you two and have a shower. If you haven't eaten, we should go for a bite when you are done having your jacuzzi beers." 

Charlie ended up taking an extra long shower, lost somewhere in his thoughts. The day's events seemed surreal to him, and his stomach seemed to be doing summersaults. He wasn't sure if it was hunger and it appeared too soon for it to be love, but still, anything was possible when a soulmate bond was involved. He towelled himself off and put on some jeans, a t-shirt and a cosy sweater. 

He was pretty sure Alex had said they would meet after dinner, but he already had this strange longing for him. It was both scary and exhilarating. He resisted texting Alex to ask him to change his plans. Charlie kept reminding himself that they had their whole lives ahead of them, but it didn't quell the almost urgent feeling he was feeling inside. 

Charlie sat on the couch, waiting for Luke and Diego to finish their jacuzzi beers. As he waited, he composed, deleted and recomposed a single text message to Alex what felt like one hundred times. He settled on something simple. 

**Charlie (5:04 pm):** i really enjoyed spending the day with u. let me know when u want to get together

A few minutes later, Diego and Luke emerged from the bathroom that had the jacuzzi, each going to their respective rooms to change. Luke was the first to join Charlie. 

"You know what the main disadvantage that jacuzzi has over a hot tub?" Luke asked, sitting himself down beside Charlie on the couch. 

"Besides barely being big enough for both you and Diego?"

Diego joined them, sitting on the armchair. "Yeah, it was a touch cramped."

"No, that isn't the main disadvantage, though. While mildly inconvenient, it isn't what drove me from the tub."

"Please, Luke, enlighten us." Diego chuckled, smiling. 

"No water heater. The water gets cold. Even if I was by myself, which no offence Diego, would have been more comfortable, eventually, my time in the jacuzzi would be limited by the slowly declining temperature of the water." 

"Dude, that is like one of the smartest things I've ever heard you say," Diego teased. Luke tossed one of the couch pillows at him. 

Charlie's phone vibrated, a text notification popped up. 

**Alex (5:23 pm):** i had fun today too. how does 7 pm sound?

Charlie swiped the notification away as quickly as he could, but Luke saw. 

"Who is Alex?" Luke asked. 

"One of the guys I skied with from the trip. He was on our bus?" Charlie offered nervously. 

"Charlie, are you getting nervous talking about him?" Diego chuckled. 

Another text message popped up on Charlie's phone. 

**Alex (5:25 pm):** oh and the plan to not tell people isn't surviving contact with my friends. 2 of 4 of my friends know. zach could tell just by how we were interacting that something was up and he figured it out

Charlie swiped the message away again, hoping Luke didn't see, but he wasn't good at hiding his feelings. He was positive his friends could read the surprised look on his face.

"Seriously Charlie, you are acting so weird. Even for you." Luke said, shaking his head.

"Hey... what's that supposed to mean?"

"Dude, we love you, but you are one of a kind," Diego added.

"Wait, Diego, he just distracted us."

"He did, didn't he? Who is Alex?" 

This time it was Diego who asked. 

"I already told you."

"I think you are withholding," Luke stated. 

Ignoring Diego and Luke for a moment, Charlie unlocked his phone and opened his messages. 

"And now you are ignoring us," Diego noted.

Charlie continued to ignore them and typed a message to Alex.

**Charlie (5:30 pm):** 7 pm sounds great. the plan isn't surviving contact with my friends either. they know something is up. i think i'm just going to tell them

**Alex (5:31 pm):** sounds good. where should I meet you?

**Charlie (5:31 pm):** downstairs in the lobby

Charlie grinned and sighed, knowing that Diego and Luke were both staring at him. Without saying anything, he pushed up his left sleeve to reveal the soulmate timer to Luke, who was sitting beside him. 

"Holy shit! Alex is your soulmate, isn't he?" Luke gave Charlie an enthusiastic congratulatory side hug. 

"Dude, that's so exciting. Are you seeing him again tonight?" Diego leaned in, his elbows resting on his knees, hands clasped in front of him. 

"I am seeing him again tonight. " Charlie smiled. He actually felt like he couldn't stop smiling; his face almost hurt due to the amount of smiling he'd done that day. "But first, we should get something to eat, I'm starving."

* * *

**Alex**

Alex somehow had the appetite for four pieces of pizza. He was exhausted even though it wasn't even half-past six yet. He kept nervously looking at his left wrist which both had his watch on it and his soulmate timer, which was unmoving currently as he wasn't with Charlie.

Noah's presence in the condo was making things somewhat awkward, especially with Justin, who was currently giving him his signature scowl of disapproval. Justin and Jessica broke up almost a year ago and were nearly friends again. While Alex had been suspicious of Noah, he seemed nice enough to him. A little one dimensional but that tracked with the types of guys that Jessica had dated since breaking it up with Justin. Alex was also pretty sure that Noah was very stoned. If the bloodshot eyes weren't a tip-off, the droopy lids and his slow manner of speaking basically confirmed his suspicions. Given Jessica's current propensity for giggling, he suspected his best friend had also partaken with Noah before returning to the condo. 

Alex noticed Jess slowly turned her head in his direction and made eye contact with him. 

She spoke slowly, "Did you find him?"

Alex felt his eyes widen. She did not just ask him in front of everyone. He'd almost managed to make it through this part of the evening without having to explain to his friends his soulmate situation. He decided to play coy.

"Find who?" 

She rolled her eyes and grinned, "Silly Alex, did you find your soulmate?"

Yep, she totally just asked him that in front of all their friends. 

He had done his fair share of embarrassing her in the past, and he didn't think she meant to awkwardly out his soulmate thing, especially considering she may have gotten high with Noah. In fact, he couldn't recall having told her to keep it on the down-low, so it was kind of on him that he was in this awkward situation. Well, he'd already told Charlie he was having trouble keeping it under wraps so why not just let everyone in on it. 

"Uh, yeah. I guess, " Alex replied, attempting to feign indifference. 

"You guess? If only everyone got to witness what I did this afternoon. You'd all know how much Alex is understating this," Zach added, calling Alex out on his nonchalance regarding his soulmate situation. 

"Thanks for keeping that to yourself, Zach. I _really_ appreciate it," Alex couldn't help but lace his words with sarcasm. "But yes. I met my fucking soulmate. His name is Charlie, and I hope that one day I can introduce him to all of you without you all embarrassing me." 

Jessica squealed, "Eeee I'm so excited for you! We won't embarrass you..."

Alex gave her a pointed look that communicated his scepticism on that fact.

Justin took a break from alternating scowls and puppy dog eyes, uncrossed his arms, stood up and walked over to Alex. He genuinely seemed happy and gave Alex a pat on the shoulder as he congratulated him. "Dude, well good for you. I know we haven't always gotten along, but I'm, like, really happy for you."

"That's amazing, Alex. I'm happy for you, too," Tyler offered, earnestly. 

Before his friends could pick up where Zach left off with the twenty questions he started with Charlie, Alex decided to make his way to the lobby early to wait. But Zach stopped him before he left the condo. 

"Where are you going?" Zach asked. 

"I'm meeting up with Charlie." 

“Awww!” Jess exclaimed.

"But where?" Zach continued. 

"I don't know yet. Don't worry, I'll tell you all about it later."


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlie and Alex spend some time alone together.

**_December 25, 2021_ **

**Charlie**

"We went for hot chocolate again that evening if I remember correctly?" Alex asked. 

"Yeah, it was nice, although I believe we didn't stay out for long because you were exhausted."

"Right. Yeah, I went back to my condo to sleep, and you somehow managed to summon superhuman energy and met Luke and Diego at a party. I think Justin, Zach and Jessica joined you. Oh and that ski instructor guy, Noah."

"Yep, that was interesting. I believe Jessica got mad at Justin for being overprotective or something. Noah was harmless. I think he was so stoned that there is no way anything was going to happen."

"But there is history there. It wasn't really about Noah. But Justin and Jessica aren't good for each other romantically. They've come so far this year on the friendship front." 

"It is hard to believe it is the same people that attended that party."

"I'm glad I was sleeping." Alex sighed. "We all went through more than enough drama in high school for a lifetime."

"Sounds like it. Makes my high school experience look pretty mundane."

"I'd trade for a mundane high school experience any day."

"Ok, you are nearly done opening all the presents. This one might be my favourite." 

Alex fished the gift marked number five from the bag; It was another cube-shaped box. He carefully removed the paper, revealing another recycled cardboard box. Opening the box revealed another Christmas ornament of a sleigh pulled by a team of horses.

"Oh...I remember this one." Alex said, softly gazing into his boyfriend's eyes. 

* * *

**_January 12, 2021- Morning_ **

**Alex**

When Alex awoke on the second morning, he felt stiff and sore as if he'd used a bunch of muscles that he hadn't used in a while-which is precisely what he'd done. It wasn't just his bad leg that ached. Alex had started lifting weights the summer before senior year and took pride in staying in good shape. But weight lifting wasn't snowboarding. He managed to move out of bed but was actually struggling to walk. He was supposed to meet Charlie at 8:30 am to ski together. But Alex knew his body, and there was no way he was snowboarding or doing anything too active today. Alex texted Charlie.

**Alex (7:45 am):** i can't snowboard today. u go on without me, and we can meet up later

**Charlie (7:46 am):** we could just hang out

**Alex (7:48 am):** but then u'll miss out on skiing

**Charlie (7:48 am):** i can ski tomorrow and the next day, hopefully with u

**Charlie (7:50 am):** u can't make me go skiing

**Alex (7:51 am):** i can't?

**Charlie (7:54 am):** nope. Let's meet at 8:30 and see where the day takes us

**Alex (7:55 am):** k, see u soon

Zach wasn't up making breakfast this morning. Alex wasn't surprised. He and Jess didn't return home until almost two in the morning, and he only knew this because neither of them was as quiet as they thought they were being. Tyler was sitting at the breakfast bar, sipping a coffee, eating a bowl of cereal. Tyler had decided to stay in with him last night. Parties weren't really Tyler's scene either which is something they bonded over from the start.

"Oh, hey, Alex. Did you sleep well?"

"Uh yeah, Ty. I think Justin's right, the air here is different and I was exhausted. Do you know how to use this thing?" Alex pointed at the coffee contraption. 

"Yeah, I'll make you one." Tyler walked around the breakfast bar and proceeded to make Alex a coffee. 

"Thanks. I really don't function well without coffee in the morning."

"No problem."

"What's your plan for the day?"

"I booked a snowshoeing trip. My bus leaves soon actually. I'm really enjoying myself actually. You hitting the slopes again today?"

"That sounds... nice actually. No, I think I'll take it easy today as well. I'm meeting Charlie at 8:30."

"Ooh, when will I get to meet the mysterious Charlie?"

"Uh, well today... if you want?"

Justin emerged from his room, hair dishevelled, eyes squinting as if the light was too bright in the room. He walked into the kitchen, filled a glass up with water and downed it.

"Rough night, Justin? What time did you get in?" Alex commented, taking a sip of his coffee.

"I came home around midnight, you didn't hear me? 

"No, you must have been quiet, unlike Zach and Jessica."

"I'm like, so fucking sore. I dunno if it is from skiing or staying up late at the party, but I didn't drink, so my guess is the skiing. I'm taking today off." Justin poured some cereal into a bowl and doused it with milk. 

"Don't you have a ski lesson this morning?"

"Ugh, yes. I guess I  _ should  _ go. I just don't want to see Noah again."

"What happened?"

"I shouldn't have gone to that party. I just think she can do better than Noah, that's all. And I might have made that publicly known. I don't know why I couldn't keep my mouth shut. I definitely don't want to be her boyfriend anymore, but I, you know, care about her and don't want her to be with someone shitty."

"Oh, Justin, I've been there. I think there was a time I thought she could do better than you, so I get it. She's going through a phase. It is hard to watch her date some of the guys she has been dating lately."

"I know, I know. Anyhow, I also met Charlie last night. He was really nice. Talked about football. It was nice to socialise with another sober person."

**Alex (8:25 am):** hey u want to meet me at my condo. It is number 529

**Charlie (8:25 am):** sure i'll be there soon. 

About five minutes after Charlie texted, there was a light knock on the door. 

Alex opened the door and greeted Charlie warmly, unable to keep himself from smiling, "Hey, Charlie."

"Good morning, Alex. Nice to see you again, Justin."

"I see you've met Justin. Charlie, this is Tyler. Tyler- Charlie."

"Nice to meet you, Charlie," Tyler said as he washed and dried his breakfast dishes. "I'm off snowshoeing for the day. See you tonight!"

Justin sighed, "I guess I'll go to my fucking ski lesson. I'm  _ not _ waking her up this morning. I'm sure  _ Noah _ will give her a private lesson later if she wants anyhow."

Alex could tell Charlie was trying not to laugh at Justin being dramatic. It was pretty funny, but Alex knew exactly how Justin was feeling. He'd grown to like Justin more over the past year than he ever had in high school when they were both competing for Jessica's affection. It turned out they had a lot more in common than Alex had initially thought.

"So I did a bit of research, and there are quite a few things we could do. I narrowed it down to either going on a horse-drawn sleigh ride or going to some hot springs, which might be good for your leg,"Charlie suggested.

Alex mulled it over in his head. They both sounded fun, although he wasn't sure how he felt about Charlie seeing him half-naked on only the second day hanging out together. He'd come a long way and felt better about his body than he had in a long time, but he still got nervous sometimes. 

"Sleigh ride?" 

* * *

**Charlie**

They headed to the shuttle that would take them to the ranch that offered sleigh rides during the day. In the evenings, for triple the price, you could take a sleigh ride and have dinner, but Charlie thought it might be a bit too soon for that kind of gesture. The sky was a cloudless bright blue, and the way the sunlight was reflected by the snow was almost blinding. As they disembarked from the bus, an over-excited golden retriever circled the group of eight people that were going on the sleigh ride. Charlie noticed Alex's limp was more pronounced today as they made their way to the sleigh. Two large reddish-brown horses with cream coloured feathered hair around their hooves were hitched to the wooden sleigh which was large enough to hold at least 16 people so it wouldn't be too cramped with their smaller group. 

Charlie helped Alex into the back row of seats and was happy when no one sat beside them. The sleigh driver passed out wool blankets to each row as apparently it could get cold during the hour and half long ride. Unlike on the chairlift where the closeness wasn't optional, Alex had intentionally sat right next to him on the bench meant for four people. At least that is how it seemed to Charlie. He noticed that the driver had given them two blankets, but Alex had already draped his blanket over both of them. Charlie decided he would do the same, and as he did, he smiled and made brief eye contact with Alex, which caused his chest to tighten a bit with excitement. 

"Have you ever been on one of these before?" Charlie asked, trying to make casual conversation while feeling his stomach do a summersault. 

"Not for a very long time. I think when I was a kid living in Colorado, we might have done this once as part of a boy scouting trip."

"You were a boy scout?"

"Briefly. I never really liked it that much, but my dad insisted."

"I was in scouts as a kid too. I stopped when I started playing football."

"Yeah, my mom finally talked my dad into letting me quit. The only condition was that I take up another activity. I picked guitar. I liked it a lot more."

"Do you still play?"

"Yeah, for fun. Not like Zach, who decided to study music. I don't think I could handle all the music theory classes he takes."

"I ran into Zach at the party last night. "

Alex's eyebrows raised, "Oh, did you? Did he continue his interrogation?"

"No, he was actually really nice. I can tell he really cares a lot about you. I introduced him to my friends Luke and Diego so that he'd have some people to ski with. Luke is probably at a similar level to him. Diego isn't, but he is stubborn and will likely push past his comfort zone."

"I'm glad. I kinda felt bad that I wasn't able to keep up with Zach. I didn't want to hold him back."

"That is the best part of these trips. There is always someone that is at the right ability level to buddy up with." 

"Yeah, I'll admit, coming on something like this is way outside of my comfort zone. I get anxious around people I don't know."

"What made you sign up?"

"Zach. A feeling. I don't know, it was strange. I just knew I had to go even though it was something I would never normally do."

"Do you think it was the soulmate thing?"

"It had to be. I mean, I don't believe in fate but when things fall into place..." Alex's voice trailed off. Charlie reached a gloved hand under the blanket towards Alex's, and he grabbed it. It was just a touch, but it was like electricity flowed through them at the touch. It was like they were opposite poles of a magnet that couldn't resist the pull of the field that existed between them. Charlie was worried about moving too fast, but it seemed like they were synchronised in a way that he'd never experienced with another person. Moments before, Charlie had been agonising about holding Alex's hand, and when he finally decided to do it, Alex instantly reciprocated. 

They sat for a while in silence, thoroughly enjoying the beautiful mountain scenery, the fresh mountain air and the comfort of the warmth of their clasped hands. 

Charlie wanted to kiss Alex so badly. He thought about doing it for a while, periodically making eye contact with the other boy and breaking it when looking into his eyes became too much. After doing this two or three or maybe ten times, Charlie lost track, it was as if Alex had read his mind, he suddenly felt Alex's lips gently, tentatively brush against his as if he'd been unsure but decided to go for it. Charlie reciprocated confidently, deepening the kiss before breaking it off. 

"I hope that was ok, I don't know what came over me." Alex seemed a little flustered which comforted Charlie because of how undone he was feeling inside too. 

"It was more than ok." Charlie smiled and leaned in to initiate another kiss. For a few moments, he swore time stood still, and all he could concentrate on was the warmth of Alex's lips and breath and the contrast with the cold, dry air. It was like no one else existed for that moment, and the beautiful part about being at the back of the sleigh is that because everyone was facing forward, it felt a bit more private than it was. They likely weren't the first people to have taken advantage of the semi-private nature of the sleigh and they wouldn’t be the last. Alex was the first to break away this time, moving to put his head on Charlie's shoulder. Charlie smiled, enjoying the moment.

* * *

**Alex**

Alex wanted to keep kissing Charlie but opted to put his head on the other boy's shoulder to avoid being completely swept up in the avalanche of emotions he was currently feeling. He didn't want the sleigh ride to end, for then he would need to leave the soft cocoon of warmth they'd created with the blankets. He wasn't sure what had given him the confidence to initiate the first kiss, but perhaps it was what always did, a pivotal moment where he'd stop thinking and just throw caution to the wind. 

Alex glanced at his soulmate timer that was steadily counting up, second by second. 

00y 00d 6h 29m 14s

It was hard to comprehend how comfortable he already felt with Charlie despite having only known him for less time than most people spend at work. He tried not to think about it too much. Love wasn't logical. Was this love? Was this more than love? He had so many questions, and the only antidote to them for the moment was to sink himself further into his soulmate's shoulder. Charlie's response to their first kiss kept replaying in his head. 

_ It was more than ok.  _

To Alex, it was everything, at least it was at that moment. 

And it was only the beginning. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlie gives Alex his last gift.

**December 25, 2021**

**Charlie**

"I can believe I consider inviting Justin and Tyler along. That would have been awkward." Alex mused.

"I mean, we probably just would have waited," Charlie reasoned. 

"Yeah, probably. I don't know about you, but it was starting to be really difficult to sit next to you and not kiss you."

"The struggle was real." 

Charlie paused, looked at his boyfriend and considered this for a moment. 

"The struggle  _ is  _ real."

Charlie leaned over and kissed Alex on the lips. Alex wrapped his arms around his boyfriend's neck and pulled Charlie in closer, transforming Charlie's gentle chaste kiss into something more passionate. They made out for a few minutes before Charlie reluctantly pulled away. 

"You have one more gift to open and remember our families are here."

"You are right, best not get carried away and I'm excited to see what the last gift is."

Alex dug through the last of the tissue paper. This gift was unwrapped and bore the number six on it.

"Massage oil? I thought you said none of these presents are kinky?" Alex grinned mischievously. 

"It's peppermint oil, good for muscle aches and pains." 

Charlie swore Alex looked mildly disappointed that it wasn't kinky. 

"Oh, I remember now. This stuff works pretty well, actually."

* * *

**_January 12, 2021, Noon_ **

**Charlie**

Zach was cooking brunch when Alex and Charlie arrived back at the condo at around noon. 

"Hey, do you two want some breakfast? Brunch?"

"Sure." Alex wasn't going to pass up a free meal from Zach. 

"I see you've made a full recovery from last night, " Charlie remarked. If his memory served him right, Zach was quite intoxicated at the party last night. 

"Yep! Nothing a bit of sleep, water and greasy food won't cure," Zach replied cheerfully. "What did you two get up to this morning?"

"We went on a sleigh ride," Alex casually mentioned sitting beside Jessica at the breakfast bar. 

Jessica put her hand on her heart and sighed, "Awwww, that's so fucking cute."

"Shut up."

"I feel like I haven't seen you."

"Because you haven't really? I mean it's only been a day and a half since we spent 16 hours on a bus together. You didn't go to your ski lesson this morning?"

"Noah said he'd give me another private lesson if I had trouble getting up. I got pretty messed up last night. I really shouldn't smoke weed and drink."

"No, you shouldn't," Alex stated flatly.

"Wow, I feel like it is too early in the morning for the level of judgment I'm getting," Jessica replied defensively. 

"I just agree with you, that's all. What did Justin say to you last night?"

Jessica sighed, her face pained. 

"I don't want to talk about it."

Zach placed a plate of food in front of Jessica.

"One plate of greasy hangover food for you."

"Thanks."

"So, what is the plan this afternoon, love birds?" Zach teased.

"You guys are the worst. Why am I even friends with you both?" Alex replied, not answering Zach's question.

"I think we are just going to take it easy for the afternoon," Charlie added. "What about the two of you?"

"I'm meeting up with Luke and Diego after lunch. They are hardcore. Partied all night last night and they still made it on the slopes this morning. Respect."

"That sounds like Luke and Diego." Charlie chuckled. 

"I'm having my second private lesson with Noah." 

Jessica saw the way Alex was looking at her, his face almost entirely expressionless but his eyes, quietly judging her.

"What, not you too?" Jessica scoffed. 

"I didn't say anything," Alex feigned innocence, knowing he likely failed to hide how he really felt about Jessica's current choices in men. 

"You didn't have to. Shit, I'm just having fun. It's not like Noah is my soulmate or something. You don't see me being all judgy about Charlie."

"Don't talk about Charlie like he isn't here and Charlie is my soulmate, so judge away, but he isn't going anywhere."

"All I'm saying is that I'm not planning on moving to Australia and having Noah's babies so you and Justin can just chill. I've got this handled."

This was starting to feel awkward for Charlie, who sat quietly eating the nice meal Zach had made for them. 

"I know that every relationship doesn't have to be serious and it will definitely be hard for any of your future boyfriends to live up to our  _ impossible _ standards," Alex deadpanned. 

His face remained serious before he broke into an affectionate smile. "We both just care about you a lot."

Charlie noticed Jessica soften when Alex said this. With only a few brief interactions with Jessica, he was happier every day that Alex had turned out to be his soulmate. Jessica totally intimidated him. 

"I know you both care, but I don't need two more dads. I already have one. Shit, I'm late again. Nice to see you again, Charlie. We'll chat more later." 

Charlie just nodded, hoping she didn't see the slight fear in his eyes.

Alex finished eating and complimented Zach, "That was great. I didn't know you were such a good cook."

"It's just bacon and eggs. But thanks. You guys wouldn't mind cleaning up, so I can, uh hit the slopes?"

"We got this. Go enjoy your afternoon," Charlie volunteered, getting up and walking to the sink full of dirty dishes.

"We do?" Alex joked, getting up to join Charlie who had already started washing their plates. He grabbed a dishtowel and started drying the dishes as Charlie placed them in the rack. 

"See you two later!" 

Finally alone, Charlie exhaled a breath he didn't know he was holding in. Alex must have noticed because he commented on it.

"Sorry about my friends, they can be really intense, especially Jess. They mean well."

"I can tell you all care about each other a lot."

"We've been through a lot together." 

"So what do you want to do this afternoon? We could still check out those hot springs. Just hang out."

"Well, I do want to try snowboarding again tomorrow, and you seem to think these hot springs might help...." Alex's voice trailed off.

"But? I'm sensing a bit of hesitation, " Charlie prodded a little.

"It's... it's nothing. Stupid really," Alex shook his head and looked away. 

"We don't have to do anything you aren't comfortable with," Charlie reassured. 

"I know. It's just silly that I was able to tell you about trying to kill myself, but I'm worried about what you'll think when you see me in a swimsuit."

Charlie realised that they'd spent most of their time together in layers and layers of winter clothes and even inside it was still sweater weather. Protection if you didn't feel super comfortable in your body, which is what he figured Alex was getting at. 

"Maybe we just work up to it. I just realised that we've hardly spent any time together not bundled in many layers of clothes."

"I want to go, but maybe not quite yet. Like maybe we plan to go tomorrow after we do the run from the top of the mountain tomorrow. You said I couldn't leave Steamboat without going to the top at least once."

"Deal. So what are we doing this afternoon?"

"Well, it sounds like your condo is less likely to have interruptions than this one, " Alex suggested innocently.

"You want to hang out, alone, without interruptions, in my condo?" Charlie chuckled, his mind immediately jumping to a less than innocent meaning to this. 

Alex smirked, looking down shyly. "I mean, I'd be lying if I said I hadn't been imagining continuing what we started on that sleigh. And you said we could work up to me feeling comfortable with wearing fewer clothes around you."

Charlie couldn't help but laugh. It wasn't really what he had in mind, but he guessed it could work as well as anything else.

Alex blushed, realising how what he'd just said must have come across.

"Jesus Christ, I didn't realise how forward that sounded until you laughed."

"No, and fuck do I want to more than anything else. I just... I don't know if you are feeling like this as well, I'm feeling a little swept up in all of this. I never felt like I have less control over what I choose when I'm around you."

"Oh god yes, like words come out of my mouth and I almost feel like I'm just observing, and sometimes stuff like that comes out. I meant kissing. I want to do more of that. With clothes on, at least for now. But it is a bit scary because I know you wouldn't have to say much to convince me to do more. And there it is again. I said it out loud."

"Ok well, why don't we agree we won't try to convince each other to do more, no matter how we feel in the moment. At least until we've spent more than 72 hours together."

"That seems reasonable. Although 72 hours seems like a long way away considering we've only been together like 8 hours."

"Alex, you aren't helping!" 

Charlie was starting to learn that Alex had a dry sense of humour and he was beginning to suspect that he hadn't seen the half of it.

Alex grinned broadly.

"I'm just kidding, I'm on board. Shall we?"

* * *

**Alex**

Charlie's condo was on the same floor just a few doors down from his, but even so, it seemed like it took forever for them to get there. It was like the rational part of him knew there was no rush, but at the same point, there was this other passion-driven part of him that urged him to seize the moment. Charlie opened the door with his key card, and Alex whispered a silent  _ thank fucking god  _ when the condo was as empty as promised. Away, at least temporarily, from the prying eyes of his friends. 

The disconnect between how he'd pictured this moment last night as he drifted off to sleep: hot, heavy, practically tearing each other's clothes off and the outwardly calm, civilised and slow manner in which they actually entered the room only added to the almost unbearable desire Alex had to kiss Charlie again. But he managed to force himself to wait. In retrospect, his comment about getting comfortable with wearing fewer clothes around Charlie reflected the fantasies Alex had been having. And he was starting to really become frustrated with the fact that he always seemed to manage to speak precisely what was on his mind when he was around Charlie. It was part infuriating and also he could see it was a good thing that the urge was to be honest with his soulmate no matter how embarrassing.

They removed their shoes and Charlie grabbed Alex's hand, and they moved in synchronised motion toward the couch beside a gas fireplace that Charlie turned on, if only for the ambience. Alex closed his eyes as Charlie ran his fingers through his hair before his hand came to rest on the back of his neck, gently stroking it. His touch was comforting. Alex removed his sweater as the combination of the unnecessary fire and Charlie's touch had set his skin aflame. Charlie took off his own sweater and then moved in to kiss Alex. Alex channelled all the desire that had been building in him since he last kissed Charlie in the sleigh, deepening the kiss. He felt Charlie gasp as the way he had reciprocated the kiss had left the other boy breathless. 

Alex broke away for long enough to catch his own breath before diving in for more, nibbling affectionately on Charlie's bottom lip. As they made out, Charlie slowly moved to lie on his back, Alex straddling him, lowering his body onto the other boy's chest. He relished in the fact that he could feel Charlie's heart pounding against his chest and swore for a moment that his heart was beating in the same rhythm as his own. They continued for a while, exploring each other's bodies, at least as much as they could while keeping their clothes on when finally Alex pushed himself up and into a seated position, breathless. 

"I think I need a break or I might not make it to 72 hours."

Charlie gave Alex the biggest grin. "Same."

Alex got up to use the washroom, still limping a bit from the strain of snowboarding. Using the restroom took him a bit given how worked up they had gotten each other. 

When he returned, Charlie had filled two glasses with water and was sitting as casually as he could on the couch, periodically taking sips from his glass of water.

Alex sat beside him again and looked into his eyes, his lips significantly reddened and slightly swollen from their afternoon activities. 

"Well, that was..."

"Wonderful?" Charlie offered cheerfully. 

"Yeah. You could say that."

"Are you feeling more comfortable with me now?"

"I don't know, this plan might have backfired. I'm even more nervous about seeing you in fewer clothes," Alex smirked.

"Ah, but less nervous about me seeing you?" Charlie inquired, gently, eyes wide.

"Nope. " Alex smiled, "But I think I'll manage..."

"I noticed you are still limping. I've learned a little about sports massage in one of the electives I'm taking related to caring for sports injuries. I could try to loosen things up for you. It will hurt a bit, but might help it feel better." 

"You would do that?"

"Of course. I mean I really want to take you to the top of the mountain, and I don't know if I would feel comfortable given the way you are walking today."

"I've had PT done, and honestly, it is painful when things are tight like they are right now. Don't take it personally if I curse at you.”

"Is that a yes?"

Alex nodded and lifted the leg of his jogging pants. 

Charlie went to his room and came out with a bottle of peppermint oil. He worked carefully to strip each tiny muscle in the calf of his bad leg using the peppermint oil to help his fingers glide against Alex's skin. Every once and a while, Alex would utter a light  _ fuck  _ under his breath, and Charlie would back off the pressure to help the other boy recover before continuing. It took him about a half-hour to release all the tight muscles. 

"How was that?"

"It was painful, but..." Alex rotated his foot, testing out the new range of motion. "It feels much better. Thank you."

"Any time." Charlie smiled softly. Alex moved to rest his head on the other boy's shoulder, snuggling into it. He noticed given this was the second time he'd done this, and that his head seemed to fit perfectly here.

"I'm struggling to remember what life was like only two days ago," Alex mused, gazing up at Charlie.

"Me too." Charlie sighed, staring back down at Alex.

"You always hear about people falling for each other quickly, but I never really believed it could happen."

"I did," Charlie said confidently.

"I'm not surprised. You seem very much like a half-glass full kind of person. If you haven't noticed, I'm pretty in touch with my inner cynic."

"I haven't really noticed, aside from a sarcastic comment here and there."

"I feel like I Ieft that Alex back on the bus. He definitely rode the bus here. He'll definitely be on the bus ride home."

"Are you scared I might not like that side of you?"

"I'm just saying, don't get used to things being this perfect."

"I'm not worried."

They sat together, cuddling on the couch, in comfortable silence until they were interrupted by Luke and Diego returning from the hill. 

"Dude, I'm not going in the jacuzzi with you again," one voice said. 

"But Jacuzzi beers...." The other voice whined.

"We can drink a beer and then go to the group hot tub, like everyone else. Oh hi, Charlie," greeted the guy with the closely cropped curly hair.

Charlie pointed at the blond guy that Alex recognised as the person that sat beside Tyler on the bus ride here, "Alex, this is Luke. Luke, this is Alex."

Charlie gestured at the brown-haired guy, "And this is Diego. Diego, Alex. 

Luke's face quickly went from mild disappointment at Diego's rejection of another round of jacuzzi beers to lighting up with pure joy and excitement. 

"Well, I'll be damned. Charlie, it's your fucking soulmate! Welcome to the club, buddy!" Luke said enthusiastically slapping Alex on the back. 

"There's a club?" Alex asked, slightly confused. 

"Luke and Diego are soulmates too. Best friends forever."

"Some days I question the universe's logic in pairing the two of us, but most days it is just super nice knowing Luke always has my back," Diego smiled. 

Luke inserted himself in between Charlie and Alex on the couch and put his arm around both of them. Then, he turned to Charlie and asked, "Have you two kissed already?"

"Luke!" both Diego and Charlie chorused, and Charlie flushed red. Alex now remembered that Charlie was worried about his friends embarrassing him, and Luke did not disappoint. Well, at least he wasn't alone in having super nosy friends. 

"You don't even know for sure that they like each other like that," Diego added.

"I can tell. Charlie's never looked at anyone the way I see him looking at Alex." Luke squeezed both of them in for a seated hug. "I'm so happy for the two of you!" 

This was getting awkward for Alex. He didn't know Luke very well and was already being crushed affectionately by his over-enthusiastic hug. 

"Ok, Luke...I can't breathe, " Charlie gasped. 

"Oh, sorry," Luke said, standing up. "I just...I feel like this is the start of something wonderful."

"Have you been drinking already?"Charlie asked. 

"We might have had a few beers after we finished our last run," Diego admitted. 

"Ah, that explains the sappiness." Charlie nodded and smiled at his friend.

“So what if I get a little emotional after a few beers?” Luke replied defensively. 

“We never said there was a problem with it,” Diego reassured.

“Well, since I can’t get Diego to agree to another jacuzzi beer we should all go celebrate, maybe get a bite to eat together. Alex, you should invite your friends too.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Charlie replied, and they prepared to go on what would be the first of many dinners together as friends.

* * *

**December 25, 2021**

**Charlie**

"The rest of the trip is kind of a blur to me," Alex admitted. 

Charlie nodded. "I think we ended up having a group dinner that night with everyone." 

"And I don't recall any drama..." 

"No, our friends actually get along fairly well."

"Thank god. As I get older, my tolerance for drama approaches zero."

"I find it hard to imagine you tolerating any drama at all."

"I did some things I'm not proud of in High School, Charlie. Let's just leave it at that. I'm glad I met you in college."

"I'm glad I met you too."

"Until you gifted me that peppermint oil, totally forgot about the intense calf massage you gave me. You are really good with your hands. If you weren't becoming a nurse, massage therapy would have been a good career choice for you. That massage is the only reason I was able to snowboard the next day."

"Yeah, we had a nice half-day of skiing. I got you to the top of the mountain." 

"The view was amazing from the top. I will never forget that view."

"We discovered it is almost impossible to kiss properly with ski helmets on," Charlie recalled, grinning at the memory of trying to get close enough to kiss with their helmets on. 

"Very groundbreaking discoveries were made that day," Alex remarked dryly. "You know, I was a little scared that you were going to try and propose to me with the whole sentimental gift thing."

"Would that have been so terrible?"

"Uh, while I can't see myself with anyone else, we are still in our early twenties, and we've been together less than a year. I'm glad you resisted your tendency toward grand gestures and went with the gift that you did. I loved it."

"I'm glad. I had fun putting it together."

"Oh, I might as well give you part of your gift right now." Alex grabbed a rectangular package from under the tree and passed it to Charlie.

Charlie enthusiastically tore into the wrapping paper. 

"Oh my god! You didn't! A framed signed picture of Eli Manning?"

"Yep. The very one."

"Thank, Alex I love it."

"Wait.. you said part of my gift?"

"Uh, well the other part I don't really feel comfortable giving you until we are alone or rather not in earshot of our respective families," Alex said in a hushed voice.

"And  _ you _ were teasing  _ me _ about kinky gifts?"

Alex shrugged and feigned innocence. 

"I love you." Alex leaned in and sweetly kissed Charlie. “Thanks for making our first Christmas together memorable.”

“I love you, too,” Charlie said, wrapping his arms around his soulmate. "Merry Christmas, Alex."

And they continued to kiss for a bit before lying down on the couch and falling asleep in each other’s arms by the twinkling light of the Christmas tree. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really enjoyed creating this story for my secret snowflake, Ricoka! 
> 
> Thanks to everyone on the Chalex discord for the chats. All the conversations have influenced this in some way and I am grateful for all the inspiration I received from all of you.
> 
> Thanks to [de_la_cruz87](https://archiveofourown.org/users/de_la_cruz87/works) for offering to beta read this after I’d mentioned it to her numerous times and especially on the input on some specific dialogue.
> 
> The song this story is named after is [Superposition](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxJhrwyn0M4) by Young the Giant. 
> 
> Thanks for reading and I’d love to hear what you think of this!
> 
> Happy Holidays Everyone!


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